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Alain Prost working to get French Grand Prix on 2013 F1 schedule

November 2, 2012

Four-time Formula One champion Alain Prost is working to revive the French Grand Prix and have it fill the void on the 2013 F1 schedule created by the postponement of the New Jersey race in June. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Four-time World Champion Alain Prost and Philippe Gurdjian, the former Formula One promoter at Le Castellet (aka Paul Ricard) racing circuit in the south of France, are urgently exploring all avenues to replace the postponed 2013 event in New Jersey with a revived French Grand Prix.

Gurdjian was the Paul Ricard circuit director for many years until Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone asked him to leave and design the expansive Yas Marina circuit project in Abu Dhabi. He and Prost were among the visitors to the Persian Gulf nation for this weekend's Formula One race, but it was not a social call. According to the L'Equipe newspaper, they will meet with Ecclestone about reviving the most historic of all Grands Prix. They have also scheduled meetings in Abu Dhabi with Arab investors. It seems that several have already expressed an interest in financing the French Grand Prix, which has not been held since 2008.

The French authorities have long sought to return to the Grand Prix calendar, but last month the national motorsports body revealed that the recently elected government in Paris had emphatically ruled out any state subsidy for the event. The FFSA stated that it would therefore urge the management teams at both Paul Ricard and the Circuit de Nevers de Magny-Cours about how to proceed. It appears that Paul Ricard is now the better-placed of the two options.

Prost told the RMC radio station: “What is certain is that the possibility of reviving the French Grand Prix, the window of opportunity, is very interesting today. Some Grands Prix [on the 2013 calendar] will have difficulties to be organized. First, the new race in New York has already been postponed, and perhaps others will be in the future. The opportunity for a new French Grand Prix is certainly more significant now than it was a few months ago.

“To be clear, I was asked to be a consultant on the project. Being here in Abu Dhabi, where I am representing Renault, I will have maybe one or two meetings to talk about it. Who will be the promoter is not really the subject. What is needed is to try to find the best compromises in order to make the French Grand Prix happen as soon as possible.”

Prost hinted that the selected venue might yet receive some regional government funding for the event when he added: “Everyone must judge this project as an investment, and we must know that there will be a return on the investment. It is necessary that people understand that an investment in a Grand Prix is not money lost. If we manage to organize a Grand Prix, it will have very important economic benefits all round [in the region]. These are evaluated at about €20 million, plus between €20m and €30m in terms of annual tourism. This is important to talk about because, when people mention public money, everything tends to become negative.

“Today, I think that in France, for the involvement of companies like Renault and Total, and also for the European automotive industry as a whole, it would be beneficial. For the European economy, an additional Grand Prix in Europe, a great event that can attract foreign investors, would be a real plus.”

This week Ecclestone said of the French project: “We've got a pen. We're ready to sign a contract. Which circuit they're going to use is one thing... and who's going to pay for it is another. That's the bottom line. But if they're ready, we can slot it into the calendar.”